Electric-spark-disclosing means for internal-combustion engines.



H. A. SCHADE & F. N. RICHARDSON. ELECTRIC SPARK DISCLOSING MEANS FORINTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES. APPLICATION FILED APR. 9. 1910.

1, 172,1 68; Patented Feb. 15, 1916.

A'r'. EST INVENTORS.

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United States,

STATES PATENT OFFICE. i

HARRY A. SCHADE, OF EAST CLEVELAND, AND FRANCIS N. RICHARDSON, OF

. 4 CLEVELAND, OHIO.

ELECTRIC-SPABK-DISCLOSING mums FOB. m'rnnmm-counusnon amounts.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 15,1916.

Application filed April 9, 1910. Serial No. 554,537.

To all whom it may concern .1

Be it known that we, HARRY A. Sermon and FRANCIS N. RICHARDSON, citizensof the and Cleveland, respectively, in the county of Cuyahoga and Stateof Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inElectric-Spark-Disclosing Means for Internal-Combustion Engines, ofwhich the following is a specification.

, Our invention relates to means for visually disclosing the effect ofthe passage of an electric current through a portion of its cate thetrouble before the circuit, and is adapted especially to be used withinternal combustion engines using electrical ignition devices, allsubstantially as shown and described and particularly pointed out in theclaim.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portionof a four c linder machine with our invention instal ed therein, ashereinafter fully described. Fig.

2 shows a series of four vacuum tubes lo-' cated side by side upon asuitable back support, and Fig. 3 is a cross section of Fig. 2 upon line00-w. view of one of the combined clamp and terminal members used witheach of the several vacuum tubes at their respective ends, and Fig. 5 isa perspective view of one of the vacuum tubes alone.

The object of the invention is to provide means whereby failure of anyone of the sparking devices for the several engine cylinders will beinstantly disclosed to the observation of the driver or operator of themachine and also the particular enginecylinder wherein the defectoccurs, so that the machine and make personal tests and examinationsfrom cylinder to cylinder to loremedy could be applied. By the presentinvention we are enabled to detect any failureof sparking in anycylinder the instant such failure occurs and also to locate exactly theparticular cylinder involved, and all this isaccomplished by a series ofvacuum tubes arranged successively in the sparking circuits of thesevresiding at East Cleveland,

. engines of what is known as machme.

Fig. 4 is a perspective eral cylinders or engines and which are openlytransparent and 3 exposed immediately in front of the operator upon thedashboard or in some other convenient position so as to be observedwithout effort.v

ow, pursuing the foregoing conception into the mechanism of the case,the characters A, B, C and D, respectively, represent say four severalexplosion cylinders or a four cylinder and whatever the number of theoperation is the same as to so that thecase may be simplified It mightbe one or more cylinders Thus, each cylinder has one of the severalvacuum'tubes operatively associated therewith, and which are numbered 1,2, 3 and 4, respectively", corresponding to the four several cylinders,A, B, C and D, and it may be assumed that tube 1 has operativeconnection with cylinder A. These tubes are preferably provided with arelatively small quantity of mercury or its equivalent to promote abetter flow of the vacuum and cause a brighter illumination than if themercury were omitted, and have electric terminals a and Z) in theirrespective ends constituting, in this instance, portions of theconducting bands or caps 5 upon the outside of said tubes. The tubesthemselves are made of transparent'glass, so that any light within thesame will be plainly observable to one who occupies a seat in themachine and have inwardly projecting nipples n at their ends inwhich thesaid terminals a and b are supported. This also provldes an insidepocket for the mercury as shown at -m. It should be understoodQhowever,that the invention does not necessarily call for a mercury tube butcomprises a vacuum tube or member ence of mercury or other conductingsubstance] or medium therein, as such vacuum tubes alone will glow asthe current travels through vacuum between the two points a and b.

Now, having the several tubes arranged for example as they appear inFig. 2, they are fixed in position upon ,a special board or backing E inthis instance by means of the clamping and terminal brackets G aflixedto the said backing by screws or any suitable means. Each of saidbrackets has electric fluid in regardless of the presthrough theseterminals and through the' vacuum in the. tube by way of points a and bto the sparking devices upon the cylinders. Any suitable source ofenergy may be employed whether itb'e a bat ery or other wellv knowngenerator, and in ig. 3, the circuit is traceable along the 11118 ofconnections indicated b' 8 from the battery 15, 7 It' should beurtherunder'stood that we can terminal points 18 on theres'pective.cylin-.

ders may be regarded as representing'the use a vacuumized or partiallyvacuumized tube or one containing as, vapor or other fluidpossessing Ithe e ectric conducting properties and in that case forming an integralpart of or continuous with an electrical circuit or systenyhndwhichconstitutesthe ignition system of an, electrically fired anddischarged hydrocarbon engine and other- Wise known as an internalcombustion eng'ine. The presumption of course is that any such gas,vapor, or fluid in said tubes'must possess the property of becomingillumi nated during thepassage of electrical cur-v rent through thesame.

For the purposes of this description the igniters or sparking device'sherein referred to, and 10 represents a spark coil. Theback plate orboard E carrying the vacuumtubes is shown as having an.opening-1 2behindsaid tubes and a corresponding opening-16 is provided in thedashboard J, thus-pro viding for observation on the tubes 1 from behindas well as in-"front'of the machine. This is important toenable the;person who is making repairs or tests attheengines to see which tuberesponds and which "fails, so ,l

that it isvery material in adevicelike'this to have the said openings sothat said observations can be made. We show transparent tubes but usethe said word tube in-the sense of a transparent part or bulb as itmight have a difierent shape or otherwise than tubular and serve ourpurpose. It is in this sense that the term is use in the claim.

Respecting the use of the vacuum tubes in an electric circuit as hereindescribed we" may add that we have carefully tested out the efiect ofthe said tubes in the circuit by means of a hot wire ammeter,and 'thetest showed a higher reading in amperes with the said-tubes than withoutthem, the reason i probably being that-the tubes operate more or less ascondensers with obvious advan-. tage at the, spark plug.

Although this invention is herein described in connection withautomobiles, it is not necessarily limited thereto, but maybe usedwherever internal combustion engines,

or sparking circuits are employed, say as m launches or even stationaryengines.

' A c'ut-out switch for each-tube may be used in the electrical circuitof each, thereby permitting a continuous metallic circuit to beestablished in the event that any tube is broken or out of commission.However, it is also plain that any metallic piece, such as awireor-shortmetal bar may be seated between any pair of opposed contacts 6when the tube'is, removed or even when still in place to short circuitthat particular tube.

What we claimis: v Electric spark disclosing means for 'in-' ternalcombustion engines comprising a transparent vacuum tube. for each enginehaving a barrel-shaped body and relatively jreduced ends. provided eachwith an inwardly projectmg nipple and electric terminals through saidnipples, caps of con-' ducting material sleeved'upon said ends andprovided with said electric terminals at their middle, the said tubes'be'in constructed alikeat both ends and reversi le as to their.

endsand the said terminals terminating in the respective ends of thetube;

Inte 'imony whereof we affix natures'in presence of two witnesses.

HARRY A. SCHADE.

our 'sig-- FRANCIS N. nrcnnnnson.

Witnessesz' R. B.-Mosnn, E. M. Elem

